I recently received a mailer that was quite impressive. It contained 2 DVDs, 4 packages of material sealed in plastic with an “Evidence” tag on each of them and a brochure. It was obviously hand assembled. Great care went into putting all of these items into each of the plastic bags. Everything was beautifully designed with 4 color graphics. It was packed in a sturdy 9×12, padded shipping envelope. I also noticed that it had first class postage. The stamp showed that the sender had paid over $2.00 for the postage. Wow! I was impressed. This must be important. Strangely, it had an “evidence” tag affixed to the corner. I opened the package thinking this would be a great mailer and perhaps it would inspire us to do something creative for one of our clients.
I opened it and spread the contents out on my desk as I examined each item and read every word of the copy. My face screwed-up in confusion as I realized that it was very professionally prepared but there was only one problem. I had no idea of the purpose of the mailer. What were they trying to sell me? What was the meaning of this message? This was a great mystery. I examined each item carefully and read every word again. I had “no idea” what they were trying to communicate. Maybe it was just me.
I decided to show it to our top designer. Surely, he would understand the purpose of this very expensive and professional mailer. Perhaps I was too “thick!” I showed it to Max. Now remember Max has 20 plus years of commercial design experience. He has written and designed thousands of advertisements and mailers during his career. Alas even Max could not decipher the mystery mailer. He did however agree that the package cost well over $15 each to assemble, print and mail even at a very high quantity! Too bad we couldn’t understand the message. It must be important! Clearly, someone spent a great deal of time and money on its development.
We decided to send it around the office to several of our designers, production and marketing staff members. Surely, someone would be able to solve this mystery. Yet not one person could figure out the meaning of this mailer! Now remember we are all “professional” advertising, design and marketing people! What was wrong with this picture? Suddenly, I had a brainstorm. Let’s contact the people that sent this to us and ask them to explain the meaning of the mailer! “Great idea,” Max said! We scoured the copy for more information. Maybe we could find a phone number or an address. No luck!
We got out our magnifying glass and finally discovered a web site written in 8-point type and buried in some obscure copy on the back of the brochure. We went to the site that looked very similar to the mailer and took several seconds to load. We read the home page to no avail. Just about ready to give-up we scrolled through the various pages and finally there it was – the meaning of the mystery! That’s it! That’s what this mailer is all about? What a disappointment!
Not only did we waste our time, but the marketer was wasting their money. Can you discover the meaning of the mailer? Check out the image below and e-mail me what you think it’s all about. If you’re right, I’ll send you our CD set on how to develop “killer direct mail campaigns!”
The lesson for all of us?
Create your marketing material so that a 7-year-old can understand it. In addition, make sure people know what you want them to do. I have seen some great marketing messages that leave the customer hanging not knowing where or how to purchase the product or service but this one really wins the prize. Just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it’s good.
Have a great week!